Lot Essay
Paris in the 1880's attracted a host of American artists seeking to immerse themselves in the ways of Impressionism. Childe Hassam was part of this migration; in 1886 the artist and his wife settled in Paris where they would remain for the next three years. During this period Hassam executed The Quai St. Michel (circa 1888) drawing strong inspiration from the Paris environs. With broken yet controlled brush strokes, sophisticated command of color, atmosphere and light, The Quai St. Michel represents one of Hassam's earliest and important forays into American Impressionism.
Hassam moved to Paris with the intent of "refining his talent in the larger crucible of contemporary art." (D.F. Hoopes, Childe Hassam, New York, 1982, p.13) While Hassam was living in Boston, he subscribed to the principles of tonalism. Concentrating on painting the effects of atmosphere, the artist created images of Boston streets in twilight, on a rainy day or illuminated by artificial light. While in Paris, Hassam studied at the Academie Julian though his experience at the school was neither favorable nor beneficial to his art. Hassam wrote: "The Julian Academy is the personification of routine...It is nonsense. It crushes all originality out of the growing men." (quoted in U.W. Hiesinger, Childe Hassam, New York, 1994, p. 32) Working independently of the Academie, Hassam, learned his most important artistic lessons on his own. During this time Hassam's style exhibited a subtle shift away from his more static approach evident in his works from his earlier Bostonian period. By 1888, Hassam stopped attending the Academie and was working entirely on his own, absorbing various tenets of Impressionism. Hassam, however, consistently rejected the classification of Impressionist. Donaldson F. Hoopes writes: "If the search for the equivalent in paint of the light of nature involved borrowing some of the Impressionists' innovations, then he borrowed, but at no time in his career did Hassam subordinate the emotional content of the represented image to a supremacy of color or technique. Indeed, most of his paintings from the Paris years also tell of his search for a synthesis of his commitment to realism and the demands of a viable plastic expression." (Childe Hassam, p. 13) Hassam in a later interview with A.E. Ives explained his own tenets of style: "Art, to me, is the interpretation of the impression which nature makes upon the eye and brain. The work 'impression' as applied to art has been used, and in the general acceptance of the term has become perverted. It really means the only truth because it means going straight to nature for inspiration, and not allowing tradition to dictate to your brush, or to put it brown, green or some other colored spectacles between you and nature as it really exists. The true impressionism is realism. So many people do not observe. They take the ready-made axioms laid down by others, and walk blindly in a rut without trying to see for themselves." (A.E. Ives, "Talks with Artists: Childe Hassam on Painting Street Scenes," Art Amateur, 27, October 1892, p. 117) Utilizing the city environs of Paris, The Quai St. Michel reflects Hassam's innovative borrowing of Impressionist techniques combined with his unique sense of realism. This melding of styles would come to define the power and creativity of Hassam's art.
Hassam, "was caught by the everyday scenes that unfolded around him at each corner or at newspaper kiosks and bookstalls on the quais." (Childe Hassam, p. 44) Hassam frequently visited the picturesque and scenic area around Quai St. Michel, along the Seine near Notre Dame. In The Quai St. Michel, he captures numerous vignettes of people and architecture, all of which comprise a momentary glance of daily activities along the bridge. Cleverly situating himself along the Seine, Hassam portrays an elegantly clad young woman perusing through book stalls along the river's edge as a more matronly woman looks on; a father and child accompanied by a little dog stroll in the distance, while various anonymous groups beyond walk in differing directions.
The scene which Hassam portrays in The Quai St. Michel moves beyond a vision of everyday life and transforms into a crystalline image that is energized through brush stroke, color, light and atmosphere. Hassam employs a steady yet broken brush stroke that infuses the work with sense of movement indicative of a bustling boulevard. This sophisticated handling of paint combined with a muted palette underscores Hassam's atmospheric effect of a clouded afternoon. In the present work, Hassam depicts an overcast day composed of muted browns, lavenders and gray. From this dominate color scheme emerges the contrasted brilliance of red, russet, blue and yellow as seen in the books, the flower in the young woman's hat, the matronly woman's shawl and in the distance, punctuated along the buildings and storefronts. Hassam then showers the work with subdued sunlight that does not diffuse the scene but shapes and forms his figures and architecture.
Combining his past interest in urban scenes with a new and unique painting technique, The Quai St. Michel represents an important stylistic development in Hassam's career. The present work illustrates the important elements that would later define his greatest achievements in American Impressionism.
This painting will be included in Stuart P. Feld's and Kathleen M. Burnside's forthcoming catalogue raisonn of the artist's work.
Hassam moved to Paris with the intent of "refining his talent in the larger crucible of contemporary art." (D.F. Hoopes, Childe Hassam, New York, 1982, p.13) While Hassam was living in Boston, he subscribed to the principles of tonalism. Concentrating on painting the effects of atmosphere, the artist created images of Boston streets in twilight, on a rainy day or illuminated by artificial light. While in Paris, Hassam studied at the Academie Julian though his experience at the school was neither favorable nor beneficial to his art. Hassam wrote: "The Julian Academy is the personification of routine...It is nonsense. It crushes all originality out of the growing men." (quoted in U.W. Hiesinger, Childe Hassam, New York, 1994, p. 32) Working independently of the Academie, Hassam, learned his most important artistic lessons on his own. During this time Hassam's style exhibited a subtle shift away from his more static approach evident in his works from his earlier Bostonian period. By 1888, Hassam stopped attending the Academie and was working entirely on his own, absorbing various tenets of Impressionism. Hassam, however, consistently rejected the classification of Impressionist. Donaldson F. Hoopes writes: "If the search for the equivalent in paint of the light of nature involved borrowing some of the Impressionists' innovations, then he borrowed, but at no time in his career did Hassam subordinate the emotional content of the represented image to a supremacy of color or technique. Indeed, most of his paintings from the Paris years also tell of his search for a synthesis of his commitment to realism and the demands of a viable plastic expression." (Childe Hassam, p. 13) Hassam in a later interview with A.E. Ives explained his own tenets of style: "Art, to me, is the interpretation of the impression which nature makes upon the eye and brain. The work 'impression' as applied to art has been used, and in the general acceptance of the term has become perverted. It really means the only truth because it means going straight to nature for inspiration, and not allowing tradition to dictate to your brush, or to put it brown, green or some other colored spectacles between you and nature as it really exists. The true impressionism is realism. So many people do not observe. They take the ready-made axioms laid down by others, and walk blindly in a rut without trying to see for themselves." (A.E. Ives, "Talks with Artists: Childe Hassam on Painting Street Scenes," Art Amateur, 27, October 1892, p. 117) Utilizing the city environs of Paris, The Quai St. Michel reflects Hassam's innovative borrowing of Impressionist techniques combined with his unique sense of realism. This melding of styles would come to define the power and creativity of Hassam's art.
Hassam, "was caught by the everyday scenes that unfolded around him at each corner or at newspaper kiosks and bookstalls on the quais." (Childe Hassam, p. 44) Hassam frequently visited the picturesque and scenic area around Quai St. Michel, along the Seine near Notre Dame. In The Quai St. Michel, he captures numerous vignettes of people and architecture, all of which comprise a momentary glance of daily activities along the bridge. Cleverly situating himself along the Seine, Hassam portrays an elegantly clad young woman perusing through book stalls along the river's edge as a more matronly woman looks on; a father and child accompanied by a little dog stroll in the distance, while various anonymous groups beyond walk in differing directions.
The scene which Hassam portrays in The Quai St. Michel moves beyond a vision of everyday life and transforms into a crystalline image that is energized through brush stroke, color, light and atmosphere. Hassam employs a steady yet broken brush stroke that infuses the work with sense of movement indicative of a bustling boulevard. This sophisticated handling of paint combined with a muted palette underscores Hassam's atmospheric effect of a clouded afternoon. In the present work, Hassam depicts an overcast day composed of muted browns, lavenders and gray. From this dominate color scheme emerges the contrasted brilliance of red, russet, blue and yellow as seen in the books, the flower in the young woman's hat, the matronly woman's shawl and in the distance, punctuated along the buildings and storefronts. Hassam then showers the work with subdued sunlight that does not diffuse the scene but shapes and forms his figures and architecture.
Combining his past interest in urban scenes with a new and unique painting technique, The Quai St. Michel represents an important stylistic development in Hassam's career. The present work illustrates the important elements that would later define his greatest achievements in American Impressionism.
This painting will be included in Stuart P. Feld's and Kathleen M. Burnside's forthcoming catalogue raisonn of the artist's work.